Athena's Jewel (Aya Harris Collection 2)

Another blast of power hit me. Instead of throwing me to my knees, this one froze me in place. No matter how hard I fought, I couldn't move. My hands were inches from the doorknob. Another second and I would've been free.

Light footsteps approached. I tensed my body, waiting for the final blow. After all the trouble I'd caused, I wouldn't be surprised if they just offed me right here and now. At least, it'd be better than starving slowly to death, wasting away for a month, watching my hair fall out and my ribs protrude from my chest. If I was going to die, I'd rather go down fighting. This was much better.

Instead of a killing blow, soft hands proceeded to fold my wings against my back and tie them down. The same hands closed around my left elbow, as two other pairs grabbed my right arm. No words were exchanged. Instead, there was a swirling of movement as magic flowed around us and picked us off the ground.

The blackness of the hood disoriented me. It felt like I was descending in a runaway elevator, my stomach flying up into my throat. My feet landed hard on solid ground once again, nearly depositing me on my rear end. The kidnappers steadied me, keeping me upright.

Instantly, I was struck by the rumblings of a crowded room. There had to be at least a dozen people talking all at once. They quieted down as soon as my hood was untied and yanked off my head.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the blinding fluorescent lights above me. The room was stark white and well lit, although none of it was natural light. In front of me was a padded reclining chair, like the kind they had at the dentist`s office. A computer screen and office chair stood next to it, with all manners of cords coming out of the computer.

About twenty women of various ages stood in a crowd in front of me. Nothing was peculiar about them, except for the beautiful black wings that draped off their backs, hanging nearly to the floor.

Harpies.

I was in major trouble now. The room was much too small to accommodate all of them, so they packed in, shoulder to shoulder. A tall woman with black hair and a severe A-line cut stood in front of the pack. Her matching black eyes drilled through my skull, never blinking.

I didn't have much time to take it all in. The woman to my left shoved me into the reclining chair. Her face was a bloody mess, her nose swollen and red. She must've been the one that got a kick to the face.

Blue eyes rimmed in blonde lashes blinked at me from above the swollen nose. She had to be younger than me. Maybe eighteen. For a tiny moment, I felt bad for her. That nose wasn`t pretty. But then I remembered where I was and all my pity drained away.

She held up her right hand and revealed a pocket knife with a silver blade. My heart skipped a beat. Were they going to torture me here? With everyone watching? I guess I shouldn`t be surprised.

With a swift movement, she bent down and cut through the zip tie around my wrists, releasing my hands. I rubbed my wrists along the red marks they left behind, thankful that the knife had disappeared in the pocket of her black pants. I guess they didn`t expect me to fight back anymore - not when I was outnumbered twenty to one. Even I wasn't that crazy.

The tall woman with the black hair stepped forward. "Aya Harris, my name is Ruth Andris. You've been summoned by the Harpy Quorum. You shall submit to a series of tests during which we will gauge your abilities." She cocked her head at me, as if daring me to argue with her.

"Wait, what?"

So… they weren't going to kill me? They wanted to test me? That didn't make any sense.

"Why?"

"You are a harpy. It is your duty to join our ranks," Ruth replied, waving an arm at the women standing behind her.

Many of them nodded along and smiled.

"You were not ready several years ago, but now you must take your place among your sisters."

"You're not going to kill me?"

Several of the women chuckled in response to my question. A few whispered back and forth.

"No, not today," she replied with a humorous sigh.

I looked down at my swollen wrists. The way they'd come into my apartment tonight, I was sure this was the end.

"So, let me get this straight." I sat a little higher in the chair. "You tore me out of my home - out of my bed - in the middle of the night, to test my abilities and ask me to join the HQ? Did you ever think about sending a simple invitation first?"

There was a sudden buzz of whispers throughout the room. What had once been a welcoming environment turned cold in an instant.

Ruth flashed me a smile and shrugged. "I suppose it could've been handled more delicately. But, you ran the last time we approached you. We had to be sure that episode was not repeated. Once we knew you’d had a vision of our plan to find you, we changed it so that you couldn’t avoid us.”

She had a point. Either way, I would've turned tail and ran as far as I could from the HQ. I'd done it before. And that explained why my vision had been wrong about the way they would kidnap me. It made sense that harpies could work around a psychic vision.

"What if I refuse the testing?" I asked, my voice coming out bolder than I felt.

My questions did me no favors. The women behind Ruth were beginning to glare at me. I ignored them and kept my eyes glued to Ruth's perfectly tanned skin. She had a mole above her left eye and the subtle beginnings of crow's feet. I would’ve guessed she had to be around fifty years old, but there wasn't a streak of gray in her hair.